About The Health of It All....
This is an index of the health notes included in recipes. These short tidbits of information can help answer questions on everything from Omega-3 Fats in fish to whether to cook chicken with the skin on or not. Want to know about garlic and cholesterol? Is it okay to eat eggs or not? It's all here.
The Health of It All
Calorie
"Just what the heck is a calorie and what do I do with it?!" I hear this a lot from my patients and knowing the answer is the basis for success in eating well.
The calorie is a unit of measure of energy, sort of like the watts on a light bulb. It takes more energy (watts) to burn a brighter bulb, just as it takes more energy (calories) to climb the stairs than using the elevator.
The energy your body needs to operate comes from three different fuels: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and the foods that you eat contain some or all of these. Each gram of carbohydrate or protein has four calories, while a gram of fat has nine.
This gap between the number of calories in fats and carbohydrates or proteins is one of the reasons why a high fat diet can be bad for you. Because fats are denser, it's easy to eat over double the calories by eating the same weight of fats as carbohydrates or proteins.
For instance, a tablespoon of granulated sugar has 46 calories, while a tablespoon of butter has 119 calories—even though they both are the same measure and weigh about the same. Read More "The Health of It All..." Articles